The observation and identification of wildlife in the field is a popular activity practiced by a wide range of people, including relatively skilled and unskilled amateur wildlife observers, as well as highly skilled vocational and professional wildlife observers and scientists. Typically wildlife observers may use a magnifying scope or other optical device to better view wildlife specimens from a distance and allow closer visual examination of wildlife specimens than would be possible with the unaided eye. Additionally, photography and the use of other methods to capture images of wildlife specimens in the field are also popular activities commonly practiced in conjunction with the observation and identification of wildlife specimens.
A variety of scopes and other viewing devices are known for use in observing wildlife specimens in the field, including spotting telescopes, binoculars and even hunting scopes, which allow the observation of wildlife by users. Film and digital cameras and associated telescopic lenses are also well known for use in observing wildlife in the field, and for capturing images of observed wildlife specimens. Also, other viewing devices suitable for observing wildlife such as binoculars or spotting scopes are known which incorporate image sensors for capturing digital images of wildlife specimens observed through the associated viewing device. Binoculars with integrated image sensors are known in the art, examples of which are disclosed in US Patent application publications US 2003/0197929A1, US 2003/0128426A1, US 2004/0027657A1, US 2003/0128426A1. Similarly, spotting telescopes with integrated image sensors for capturing images of observed wildlife specimens are also known, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,822,802, for example. Images of wildlife observed in the field may be used to assist in identification of the observed wildlife specimens, however, such identification remains undesirably dependent on the skill and judgment of the observer, which may vary significantly from one observer to another, and which may make wildlife identification by an unskilled or amateur observer particularly difficult.
Due to the difficulty in identification of wildlife specimens observed in the wild, particularly by unskilled or amateur observers, electronic or computer systems and associated software have been developed which attempt to assist the observer in identifying observed wildlife specimens. A system accepting input from an observer describing characteristic visual criteria related to an observed wildlife specimen is disclosed in US Patent Application Publication No. US 2008/0133592A1. A further system providing lists of potential characteristic visual criteria over a mobile phone for an observer to sequentially select in comparison with an observed wildlife specimen is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,207,010. However, such electronic or computer assisted wildlife identification systems are still dependent on the skill and judgment of the observer using the system, and on the accuracy of the observer's inputs, which may vary significantly between observers, particularly in the case of unskilled or amateur wildlife observers, making wildlife identification potentially difficult and/or inconsistent, for example. Additionally, such electronic or computer assisted systems for wildlife identification require a wildlife observer to provide detailed input to the system relating to characteristics of the observed wildlife while in the field, which may distract the user from his or her primary objective in the first place, that is, the observation of wildlife.
Accordingly, there remains a need for a means for identification of wildlife specimens observed in the field which can be easily used by in the field by a variety of wildlife observers with a wide range of skill in wildlife observation and identification, and which is not dependent on the judgment and skill of the observer in order to identify observed wildlife specimens.